Jackets Run Past Bryant, 74-45

THE FLATS – The Yellow Jackets dominated play from start to finish as Georgia Tech men’s basketball (2-0) secured a comfortable 74-45 victory over Bryant (0-2) on Friday night at McCamish Pavilion. Senior Kowacie Reeves Jr. led the offense with 18 points, just three shy of his career high, while freshman Mouhamed Sylla delivered his second double-double in as many games (10 points, 11 rebounds). Sylla also recorded four blocks in the outing, becoming just the second GT freshman to record a double-double with four or more blocks in a single game (also Derrick Favors in 2009).

Four different Yellow Jackets finished in double figures, led by Reeves’ 18 points. Freshman Akai Fleming delivered 14 points off the bench, including a 2-for-3 showing from three-point range. Tech’s big men, Sylla and junior Baye Ndongo each finished with 10. Sylla led the team on the glass with 11 rebounds and sophomore Jaeden Mustaf led the offense with five assists.

The Jackets utilized strong defense to put the lead into double digits early, holding Bryant scoreless for nearly five minutes of game time, without a field goal for 6:58 and jumped in front, 18-6. Tech grew the lead to as many as 21 points in the opening frame (35-14) thanks to a barrage of threes before ultimately heading into the break with a commanding 39-22 advantage. Tech held Bryant to just 25.8 percent shooting in the first half (eight-of-31) including just 11.1 percent from three (2-of-18) thanks in large part to three blocks by Sylla, while the offense shot 44.8 percent from the field (13-of-29) with a stellar 43.8 percent clip from three (7-of-16).

GT picked up right where they left off in the second half, taking off on a 15-2 run right out of the gate to grow the lead to 30 points (54-24). That run featured a pair of threes from Ndongo and Reeves along with the fourth block of the game from Sylla. The Jackets rolled to the finish from there, holding Bryant to just 24.1 percent shooting in the second half (7-for-29) and 10 percent from three (2-for-20).

For the game, the Tech defense held Bryant to 10.5 percent from three, its lowest opponent three-point percentage in two seasons and just 25 percent from the field, the lowest since Dec. 28 vs. Alabama A&M last season.

Georgia Tech returns to the hardwood on Monday night, welcoming Southeastern Louisiana for a 9 p.m. tip. The game will be televised on the ACC Network.

Mouhamed Sylla became just the second freshman in Tech history to record a double-double with four or more blocks tonight (Danny Karnik photo)

 

Postgame Notes

TEAM NOTES

• Georgia Tech continued this three-game homestand, and four of the first five at home, on Friday night. The Yellow Jackets cap the three-game stretch on Monday night welcoming Southeastern Louisiana at 9 p.m.
• Tech allowed just 45 points by Bryant, marking the single-game low in the Damon Stoudamire The previous low was 49 points against Alabama A&M twice (12/9/2023 and 12/28/2024).
• Tech recorded 13 steals for the second-straight game this season, matching the single game best under Damon Stoudamire. The Yellow Jackets have now recorded 13 steals under Stoudamire vs. UMES (11/3/25) and Alabama A&M (12/28/24).
• Four Yellow Jackets finished in double-figure scoring numbers – Kowacie Reeves Jr (18 points), Akai Fleming (14 points), Baye Ndongo (10 points) and Mouhamed Sylla (10 points). It marked the first time four Yellow Jackets posted double figures since Tech’s 89-74 win at Miami on March 4, 2025.
• Georgia Tech dished out 19 assists on 29 made field goals. Jaeden Mustaf (Bowie, Md.) led the way with five helpers, just one shy of his career high.
• Georgia Tech was 7-for-16 from three-point range in the first half and finished 10-of-23 for a 43.5 percent efficiency.
• Tech has connected on 10 or more threes in a game 16 times under Damon Stoudamire. The last was against Jacksonville State in the NIT on March 18, 2025.
• The Yellow Jackets won the rebounding battle, 43-37, paced by Mouhamed Sylla’s 11 boards.
• A total of 12 Yellow Jackets took the floor in the win – Lamar Washington (Portland, Ore.) and Dyllan Thompson (Sugar Land, Texas) were sidelined due to injury – and saw 25 points off the bench, paced by Fleming’s 14-point performance.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Junior Baye Ndongo (Mboro, Senegal) returned to the floor after missing the first game. Ndongo finished with 10 points, including hitting his 12^th career three-pointer with less than a minute expired in the second half.
• Freshman Akai Fleming (Marietta, Ga.) set a new career-best by halftime, scoring 12 points in the opening 20 minutes to lead all scorers at the break. He finished with 14 points on the night to go along with two rebounds and a pair of steals.
• Redshirt-senior Kowacie Reeves Jr. (Macon, Ga.) owned 11 points at intermission and ultimately finished with 18, just three points shy of matching his career-high. Reeves has now scored in double figures in both of Tech’s games this season and 37 times in his career.
• Freshman Mouhamed Sylla (Louga, Senegal) continued his impressive rookie season, recording his second-straight double-double with 11 rebounds and 10 points, as well as four blocks, three assists and a steal.
• Sylla becomes the first player in Georgia Tech men’s basketball program history to record a double-double in his first two collegiate games.
• Sylla is the first Georgia Tech freshman to post back-to-back double-doubles since Derrick Favors did so against Clemson on Jan. 19, 2010 (17 points, 14 rebounds) and Florida State on Jan. 24, 2010 (10 points, 10 rebounds).
• Sylla is the second Georgia Tech freshman to record a double-double with four or more blocks since Derrick Favors did so against Southern California on Dec. 5, 2009.
• Through two games, Sylla is averaging 13.0 rebounds and 12.0 points, while shooting 55.0 percent from the field.
• Redshirt-junior Kam Craft (Chicago, Ill.) just missed joining the double-figure scoring crew, finishing with nine points on three made triples.
• Senior Chas Kelley III (Houston, Texas) contributed five points off the bench and led the Yellow Jackets with three steals.

Akai Fleming hit the first two threes of his college career, finishing with 14 points (Danny Karnik photo)

 

MULTIMEDIA

PRESS CONFERENCE VIDEO

Full Steam Ahead

Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL

Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team is in its third year under head coach Damon Stoudamire. Tech has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1979, won four ACC Championships (1985, 1990, 1993, 2021), played in the NCAA Tournament 17 times and played in two Final Fours (1990, 2004). Connect with Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball on social media by liking their Facebook Page, or following on X (@GTMBB) and Instagram. For more information on Tech basketball, visit Ramblinwreck.com.